The original is required reading, especially for young girls. The sequels aren't necessary for anyone but Anne fans, or those who enjoyed the first and want more.)
Listened to Alice In Wonderland while I had breakfast. The Peter Pan children's album I have from the mid-70's does have some nice music, including the dreamy title song and "The Queen Has Commanded," but the most unique thing about it is the artwork for the storybook. A very modern Alice, complete with Malibu Barbie blond hair, cavorts through a still-Victorian Wonderland that looks more like it was drawn by Marvel Comics in the mid-70's than a children's record company.
Headed out for the Collingswood Farm Market around 9:30. At that point, it was still a nice day, sunny and bright, if a bit warmer and more humid than yesterday. The fall harvest is starting to roll out in earnest now. I saw pears, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and gourds for the first time this year, and leeks for the first time since spring. Made my way through the crowds well enough to buy Bosc pears, Chinese beans, a cucumber, and small Gala apples.
Hunted up a couple of yard sales on the way home. First stop was Everett Avenue, a few blocks down from Collingswood High School. They had a box filled with recipe books from the 50's through the 80's. Thought I'd give Better Homes and Gardens Jiffy Cooking and Sunset Cook Book of Breads a whirl. Had less luck at a sale on Woodlawn Terrace a block from my apartment in Oaklyn. It was mostly furniture and vintage appliances, nothing I really need.
Worked on writing for a while after I got in and put everything away. Leia and one of Jabba's showgirls pass a new statue being added to the lobby as they're heading for the stage. She doesn't have much time to inspect how lifelike it is...because it's showtime! As she performs with the other dancers, she catches the arrival of corpulent mob boss Jasper "the Hutt" himself...who never takes his big yellow eyes off her. She's more interested in figuring out where Hank is...
Broke at 1 for lunch, this time running Mickey Mouse Disco. Yes, it's what the title says. The Disney gang spoofs the disco dancing phenomenon of the late 70's with original comic numbers and disco covers of songs from earlier films. My favorite of the new material is "Welcome To Rio," with it's catchy tropical rhythm. "Zip a Dee Doo Dah" is the best of the covers.
Work was an absolute pain today. It wasn't bad when I got in. I was able to get all the trash inside and out done in the first hour. It picked up considerably after that. Every time I tried to do one of the full carts of returns or get to cleaning the bathrooms, I would be called up to take the register. Neither were ever remotely finished. One manager called me right as I was going on break. I figured it would do no good trying to explain it to her and wound up being more than 20 minutes late. I wanted to take my break on time because the other bagger was leaving early. And of course, I had no help with corrals that were bulging with carts for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, it did slow down enough by 5 that I was able to fill both sides before I headed home.
Clouds were starting to creep in, even as I was going to work. They grew darker and darker the longer I was outside. It did wait until I was long home and out of a much-needed shower to start raining.
(Ran into Richard, one of my next-door neighbors, on the way in. He'd been tinkering with my bike this afternoon. The inner tube's shot, like I figured...but so's the tire. I have an inner tube, but not a tire. I'll see if I can get somewhere to pick up a new one this week.)
I had leftovers for dinner while listening to Introducing the Care Bears, one of several recordings featuring the colorful critters in the early-mid 80's. There's a number for each of the original Care Bears who debuted when the franchise did. Most of them were unmemorable and/or marred by the fact that several of the Bears' voice actors couldn't sing. The best of a bland lot were Wish Bear's sweet "When I Grow Up" (even if her voice sounds like it's on helium) and Funshine's appropriately peppy 50's-style dance number. By far the most interesting thing about this one is the "picture album." The LP itself has some lovely artwork of the bears against a yellow background, possibly taken from the original greeting cards or Parker Brothers picture books.
As the record was finishing, I thought I'd try something I haven't had in ages.I had four big Macintosh apples leftover from last week. The Betty Crocker Picture Cook Book has a wonderfully simple recipe for Apple Crisp that sounded perfect. Sliced two of the apples, sprinkled them with spices, salt, and added a 1/4 cup of water. Rubbed flour, sugar, and butter together, then spread it over the apples. Oh yummm. It came out flavorful and just sweet enough, and it smelled amazing in the oven.
Ended the night online with the soundtrack from Return of the Jedi on YouTube. I still haven't been able to find the LP for this. I've seen it twice in ten years offline, and it was expensive both times. I'm guessing this one sold far less than the other two. While the music is excellent, it lacks iconic tracks like the credits music and "The Imperial March." Given my fondness for the Ewoks, I'm partial to a lot of the numbers that involve them, including "The Ewoks Parade" and the "Battle of Endor" medleys.
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